From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is my unsung hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

Hi, Shankar. My unsank hero is a Frenchman.

She had given me exactly what I needed in that time.

I was fortunate enough to survive with the help of this man, this doctor, who went out of his way to help save my life.

Today's story comes from Larry Max Field.

In early 2007, Larry's brother Marty entered home hospice care.

He was 47 and had terminal cancer. Marty and his wife Janice decided to move from California to

Utah where their adult children lived to spend his final days together as a family.

With very short notice, Marty's oldest son,

who was living in Utah, found a small home in his neighborhood. The home was a bit weary,

but it would have to do, given these hard circumstances. As a family, we all met in California at Marty's house.

We spent several days packing their belongings into trucks and trailers. Then our caravan began

the 12-hour drive to Utah. I was driving my brother's truck with Marty as my passenger.

Marty shared his gratitude for all of our family support,

and he made his wishes known about the desire to have his wife, Janice,

cared for after his death.

I listened intently.

But somehow in the back of my mind, I had a nagging feeling that I wished we had had

more time to fix up the little house in Utah before our arrival. After driving for 12 hours,

we pulled up to the curb well after dark to find the house lights were on, and neighbors welcoming Marty and Janice to their new home.

We assisted Marty up the porch stairs and he looked inside and he found the strength to smile and say,

...